That'll be the Day That I Die
by Storm Princess
Summary: 2007 movieverse. Leo is finally home, and Mikey shares his greatest fear with him.


**That'll be the Day That I Die **

"I've had nightmares about birthday parties."

It was a simple statement, and a statement not all that surprising coming from the orange wearing turtle, but Leo could sense genuine fear behind the words. Fear, that he suspected, did not come from birthday parties.

"Birthday parties, huh?"

"Yeah," replied Mikey, not releasing Leo from his tight hug, and barely noticing Raph and Donnie leaving the room. Leo couldn't help but notice that Donnie looked slightly hurt, he made a note to spend some alone time with him later. But right now, he could see that Mikey needed him. He heard his little brother sniffle and felt something moist on his chest. It was then that he realized that Mikey was crying.

"Hey," he managed to free his arms, wrapping them around the youngest and guiding him to the couch, sitting him down and gently wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"J- just missed you is all" he replied, his sniffles slightly distorting his words. "We all missed you."

As he spoke, Leo pressed the younger's face into his chest, offering physical as well as emotional support. "Yeah, I can see that." His words are quiet, reassuring, but inwardly his thoughts are racing. _What could've happened to make Mikey so upset?_

Mikey leaned into his brother's plastron. "The place just, like, fell apart without you. I mean, I thought I had it bad, but you should of seen Donnie and Raph-" he trembled unexpectedly; much to Leo's surprise. He drew his brother closer to his chest. "What happened, Mikey?" he asked quietly.

"Well, whenever you left, Donnie did a great job of being leader at first, but I guess it got hard on him or something, 'cause he just… snapped. After a while he got angry a lot, 'specially at Raph. Actually, I think he snapped _because _of Raph, he-"

He had to fight not to quiver this time, only barely succeeding. "He tried to talk to him once, about a month after you left, asked him not to leave the lair so much at night. Well, Raph got mad, and they got into an argument… and Raph hit him. Well, more like he shoved him, but Donnie fell and hit the ground. I- I know Raph didn't mean to hurt him, he's just used to having a lot more resistance when he gets physical" he didn't say it, but Leo knew he meant when he and Raph fought. "But after that, Donnie just wasn't the same. Him and I don't really talk much anymore, and the only time he and Raph talk is when their fighting.

He met his brother's gaze, auburn eyes copious with emotion. "We need you Leo. Without you, we just about fell apart. If you were gone any longer, I think we would have. And then, when you didn't return from your trip- it's just you were gone so long that…"

Sensing his brother's unease, Leo tightened his comforting grip on Mikey's shoulders. "I- I thought… we all thought that you-" He understood now. No words were necessary anymore.

He placed a green finger over Mikey's lips, gently silencing his little brother's frightened rambling. "Shhh. It's okay, Mikey. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise Leo?"

"I promise."

"Good." Mikey snuggled closer into his brother's chest. "Leo?"

"Hmm?"

"You sure you aren't gonna leave again? Because if ya ever did, we couldn't take it, bro. If it ever happened again, I think we'd fall apart for real. We need you, Leo. _I _need you." The last bit was a quiet, almost inaudible statement.

"It's going to be okay, Mikey. I'm not leaving, and we're going to get this team back together. Everything will be fine." He didn't tell his brother, but he knew the double meaning of his words. His brother wasn't just afraid of him taking off again. He was afraid of him dying. Just like he'd been when Leo didn't return from his trip. That's why he was so upset. He was scared he would get his big brother back only to lose him again. _Not gonna happen, bro. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. _

He placed his hands on Mikey's shoulders, gently pulling him up so he was looking him in the eye. "Go get the others. We're going out." There's a special gleam in Leo's eye, and that's all it takes to get Mikey going, letting go of his brother and heading for the stairs.

Leo watched Mikey go with a fond smile on his face. Once he was sure his youngest brother was gone, the smile faded into a solemn expression. _It'll be alright little brother. I'm here now, and I'll make sure you're all back to normal in no time. I promise you, this family will never fall apart. Not under my watch. Because if you do, that'll be the day that I die._

.


End file.
